Japanese Hobbyists Turn MechWarrior Into a Disturbingly Happy Reality

Like most adult males, I have always dreamed of owning my own full-sized, fully functional mech. And, until yesterday, I had just assumed that I was going to have to wait until a post-apocalyptic future to get my wish. Lucky for me, a few nutty engineers are bringing the dream one step closer to reality.

A group called the Suidobashi Heavy Industry created the Kuratas, a human-controlled robot. Standing more than 12 feet tall and weighing 9,920 pounds, the Kuratas made its debut this weekend at Wonder Fest 2012, an annual hobby convention in Tokyo, Japan. Unsurprisingly, it was the hit of the show.

This mech has every feature I’ve ever wanted and several that I swear were tailor-made just for me. It has a ride-in cockpit, water-powered rocket launchers, and a gatling gun that fires plastic BBs when you smile.

Yes, you read that correctly. The trigger mechanism is controlled by smiling. Terrifying, right?

The machine, which has a top speed of 6 miles per hour and can be controlled via an iPhone application, is priced at an affordable $1.35 million. Feel free to check out the Suidobashi web site, if you’re interested in customizing your own.

In the meantime, feel free to watch this mini-documentary of GeekParty’s Team Josh driving a pair of simulated mechs. I know, it’s pretty lame by comparison, but it seemed cool at the time.